Arpita Biswas

Rank: 44, Batch: 2018

Place: Kolkata, West Bengal

I’m Arpita Biswas from Kolkata. I’m in the final year B.Tech Chemical Engineering at NIT Warangal.

The reason why I appeared for GATE 2018 is that clearing the exam opens up lot of career options for any student, whether it is in terms of jobs at the reputed PSUs, BARC or for higher studies in IISc, IITs, NITs and various foreign universities accepting GATE scores. My reason to write GATE 2018 was to grab a job at one of the leading PSUs.

My first reaction

I was elated on seeing my result, I had expected a rank below 50 actually. I would give credit to my teachers, family and friends for being supportive throughout.

Preparation

No, I did not take any coaching. Self-study is my strength and I did well on the basis of that.

Study schedule

I started my preparations from the onset of Fourth Year. GATE preparation is a step-by-step process, at first a thorough and proper analysis of the syllabus is to be noted. Then I studied the topics from the prescribed text books and NPTEL study materials, and made my own notes. A thorough and proper analysis and solving all the previous year questions was a major step. Then, I started taking mock tests and test series from December. I made a single notes containing all important formula and concepts from all the subjects to revise daily. It is this final notes that saved my time and helped me to keep revising. I gave importance to the subjects based on their weightage in the exam and not according to their difficulty.

A 4-6 month rigorous study preparation can help a student do fairly well in this exam. It is important to be regular and steady in your efforts. As GATE has a vast syllabus with many subjects it is important to study all subjects and to keep revising them from time to time, and that’s where a timetable is very important. I used to keep my weekends for revision of all the subjects notes and for mock tests and weekdays for subject wise study and revision accordingly.

Mock tests are very important as they give a real time idea of where we stand in our preparation and help us in time management, getting used to the exam pattern, mode of exam, getting well acquainted with using a virtual calculator and to rectify and refine upon our mistakes.

I used Gateforum Test Series as it matched with my schedule of preparation.

Examination Day

I actually attempted the Chemical Engineering section at first, and left about half an hour for the GA section.

Interviews

Once I have cleared the GATE exam with a good rank, I’m focusing on preparing for the technical questions. At the same time, I keep myself abreast of the current affairs and tried my best to ensure that I do not miss much. I have made some short notes for the technical questions and also prepared answers for some standard HR questions. I will study comprehensively about the company because you need to be aware of the company you are working for as well as be able to answer any questions if the panel asks you.

When I say well versed about the company I mean that one should know about the operating sites, capacity, revenue, turnover as well as about the ongoing projects. It is advantageous to also know the names of the top management and other key persons of the company.

Future Plans

I look forward to working for any of the PSUs among HPCL, IOCL, ONGC, GAIL .

Advice to fellow students

I feel the first and most important step to success is to believe in yourself; next a strategic, steady hard-work and determination can help you achieve your goals. All the best!

Actually you can look up on net,there are colleges in Germany: Technical University of Germany , RWTH ACHEN , Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and National University of Singapore (NUS) which accept gate percentiles above 90 along with other academic criteria too which you can check in the respective websites 🙂

Can I get your study material specifically your revision single note which you mentioned above .. ?
If you would like share it.. then my e-mail id is harpaljadeja333@gmail.com. please kindly share..
Thank you

Hey Arpita this is jashobhan from Nit Rourkela , I also want a Rank of GATE 2019 within 50. So that I can get a psu easily. Can u recommend me a objective book for all subjects ,so that i can practice 100 questions per day easily.